Touch
by RallyPointBravo
Summary: When 7 finds herself in a predicament that 9 saves her from, she slowly begins to realize exactly what he means to her... And exactly what she means to him. 9x7.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! This is gonna be my first published piece of writing, and I'm very excited to share it with you! I'm new to this whole thing, so forgive me for any grammar/plot issues that may come up. Please feel free to R &R and tell me some ways to improve! **

**Disclaimer: 9 is not my property.**

* * *

The night was dark and damp for the first time in ages, as rain descended upon the battered and broken earth. Each drop was quickly absorbed however, as the soil hadn't seen the liquid in far too long. It wasn't an occurrence to be expected. In fact, the only reason the rain was there was due to the actions of the stitchpunks, in particular the ninth one.

In the midst of the precipitation stood a lone, white canvas warrior, searching with tears in her eyes. She had told 9 and the twins that she was leaving them to find supplies, but they all knew she would find nothing in the rain. In truth, she just wanted to find a place to mourn the loss of her friends and family alone. However, this choice had cost her a great deal of trouble, as she could no longer see where she was in the torrential downpour that was the night.

7 wandered aimlessly, sniveling and waterlogged, as she found herself a rusted out car to wait out the storm in. She hated herself for this moment of weakness, but was extremely grateful that there were no witnesses around. It was better to be soaked and alone than to be dry and in the company of the others. She could never look weak in front of them. How would they ever feel confident leaving the confines of a building if they thought none of them stood a chance against a beast?

Her thoughts drifted from those who had passed to those of her current reality. 3 and his sister 4 were strong in the mind, but were nothing more than children in the body. She could never allow them to feel as though they had no chance. The light in their eyes (both literal and metaphoric) would be so much dimmer; she couldn't bear the thought.

Then she thought of 9… And wasn't sure what to think. He was both strong and weak at the same time… Competent and utterly careless… And, she had to admit, a bit cute in his clumsiness. Although she hadn't known him for long, he was one of her best friends, and the most courageous individual she'd met. He had a somewhat boyish charm, and yet he acted as if he had lived a thousand lifetimes. She found that every time she laid eyes on him, she would hold her breath without noticing, or, even worse, she would shy away from his gaze. Not even 8, whose hulking mass was more intimidating than any beast, could make her avert her eyes. Yet the gentle, caring look from 9 was enough to make her lower her gaze, loosen her grip, and, possibly blush?

She shook her head free of those thoughts. No need for them right now. She was now focused on finding her way back to her group. The rain seemed to be clearing up a tad. Perfect. She slowly rose from her sitting position within the car, and in an instant, was out and sprinting about the ruins of a city around her. Unfortunately, the rain had faked her out with the clearing, and now began pouring even harder than before. Even though she was a natural born explorer, she couldn't even find her footing in this heavy of a storm.

Just when it seemed she would be stuck out in the rain until her frame rusted, she spotted a bright, glowing light penetrating the veil of water. She managed to get her footing and walked over to the light, and found that it was radiating from a bulb attached to a pole. Of course, it was 9's light staff. 9 himself wielded it, wearing a thick hooded cloak fashioned from a discarded gardening glove. As soon as he laid eyes on 7, he took her hand and pulled her over to him. As she looked for him with her drenched optics, he quickly removed the cloak and put it around her shoulders. She could hardly argue as she was shivering cold, and clenched 9's hand harder than before.

"Lovely weather we're having," she said, barely able to see the now soaked 9 through her fogged and wet optics.

He rolled his 'eyes' and pulled her along. "Very funny. Now let's get you home before your joints lock up and you catch your death." He wasn't very amused by the situation. As he lead her through the ruins of what once were streets, he couldn't help but drag her a bit as she was soaked through and couldn't move at the same pace. When he looked back and found her sneezing, he sighed and scooped her up, knowing that she soon wouldn't have the strength to go on. 7 would've blushed had she been in any other mindset, but at the moment all she could think about was getting home.

"Just a little bit further 7, we're almost there." She heard the words, yet they didn't mean much of anything to her as she slowly drifted off, her optics decreasing her field of view until she could see nothing but a crack. Then, nothing.

* * *

When 7 awoke, she found herself inside of the one of the rooms in the library, lying on a soft fabric bed, with blankets all over her. She tried to sit up, but the pounding headache kept her down. 9 noticed her stir and sat up in his chair, then gently placed his palm on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't get up, okay? You're still not well enough to do that yet." He spoke softly and sweetly, much like a mother.

"Ahh… My head is killing me."

"Well, who told you to stay out in the rain for so long?"

She sighed and looked over at 9, noting that he too was sniffling a bit. However, he didn't look half as bad as she felt, likely due to the fact that he wasn't out as long as she. But, he did give her his cloak…

"…Thanks for the cloak." Was all she could choke out as her pride tried to keep the words suppressed.

"What kind of a friend would I be if I let you get soaked out there by yourself?" His words made him smile, and his smile was quite infectious as a small smile appeared on 7's face.

"Where are the twins?" She asked, slightly concerned.

"They're off reading or something. I told them to stay away from us so they wouldn't have to worry about getting sick themselves."

"Oh." Was all that she could say.

He then rose out of his seat, his mechanical parts creaking and sighing in protest. He slowly, methodically came over to her bed and gently stroked her cheek.

"Get some rest. Nothing will happen while you do."

She felt a slightly tingly sensation as he stroked her cheek, as if it were somehow causing her wiring to fail. Or maybe the rain had done that. Regardless, she nodded and shut her optics, preparing to rest. As soon as she felt 9's hand leave her face, she knew that there was no other reason to stay awake, and gently drifted into the dark, wondering what she had done to deserve such a caring and noble friend.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late afternoon when 7 awoke, nearly a full day since the soul freeing ritual, and she felt nearly as empty as before. Again, she tested to see if she could sit up, and was delighted to find that her headache wasn't so strong as to keep her pinned to the bed any longer. She slowly rose out of bed, finding her bird skull helmet and spear in the corner of the room, and groggily exited.

When she stepped out into the light, she immediately regretted her decision of getting up as the light nearly burned her optics, and she felt a sickening feeling in her gut. No more than five steps later she had collapsed onto the floor, hear head spinning and her eyes shut. This sorry sight of a warrior was what 9 had walked in on, a warm blanket in hand and a concerned look on his face.

"I see you're up and about already. Maybe not the best choice, hmm?"

She sighed in frustration and snapped, "Maybe I just want to get out of here."

His sigh could be heard from a mile away. "7, as much as you might love to run off and do your own thing, we need you here. You're the closest thing we have to security, you know. If we lost you… I don't know what we'd do."

As he spoke, he slowly lifted her up and helped her back into her room, and into her bed. She was visibly irritated that she had to be helped, but no objections were made.

"Please, just try to rest. You deserve some rest after all we've been through." His eyes, while made of metals, somehow conveyed a look of sleeplessness and concern. 7 realized that this concern was likely focused on her, rather than anything else. She sighed and conceded.

"Fine. But you need to rest too. I know you haven't had much rest."

It was true, 9 had spent the better part of the last few days awake and alert, leaving him tired beyond belief. He sighed, gave 7 a slight smile, and nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, fair deal." He was about to leave 7's room when he felt a firm grip on his wrist. When he looked back he found that 7 had taken a hold of him, an almost confused look on her face.

"…Don't…Don't go yet…" she managed to squeak out. It was as if her voice box was intentionally preventing her from saying anything.

9 seemed rather confused himself, but didn't say anything as he came back over to her and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Do you need something 7?" She wanted to blurt something out, but nothing came to her. Instead, she simply reached up to 9's face and gave him one of his signature gentle cheek strokes before shaking her head in a 'no'.

While somewhat taken aback by the gesture, 9 smiled kindly and gave her hand a light squeeze in response.

"The twins should come over soon and check to make sure that nothing is amiss with you. They should know something about how we get sick, and probably a bit more on how to make us healthy."

She simply nodded before letting his hand go and whispering "Go get some rest," to him. He nodded and quietly exited her room, leaving her alone in her small, shoebox sized room made from stacked books. She spent a long while staring at the ceiling, wondering why she didn't let 9 go at first. She was concerned for him, as she always was, but there was something more that she felt in that moment. Something she couldn't place, but it was noticeably different. 9 seemed to notice, but to his credit didn't bring it up.

As she continued to mull over her actions, the twins entered her room, armed with their knowledge and a small book they had compiled made of scraps of useful information. Some of it was blueprints from the scientist's workshop, some of it was from the alchemy book, and even more was just from random books they discovered in the library.

"Hello 3 and 4." She quickly said, almost embarrassed that they were to see her in such a weak form. The twins both clicked and flashed their greeting before getting straight to work cataloguing her, making sure there were no telltale differences in her body. They quickly opened her chest up, which wasn't as awkward as one would think, mostly because the twins had no desire to see anything private within 7, they only wanted to check her parts. When they were satisfied with her internals, they closed her back up and chattered between themselves with their flashes.

" _Everything seems fine_ " flashed a smiling 4, while 3 began to pack up their notes and was about to leave when 7 spoke. "Wait… I have something to ask you two."

The twins looked at her with renewed interest as she hesitantly spoke. "I keep feeling… Strange whenever I speak with 9. Like my wiring is broken. Is it possible that I hate him without knowing it?"

The twins gave each other a look and walked in closer to 7, taking a seat on either side of her bed. " _What do you mean, feeling strange_?" 3 asked, already analyzing the words she used.

"I feel… Like I can't speak to him without wanting to say something more to him, sometimes even becoming a bit… Shy."

The twins exchanged a knowing glance before 4 finally flashed, " _Perhaps you are attracted to him without your knowing._ "

She immediately flushed in embarrassment, and she quickly looked away from the pair sitting at her bedside. It made sense, what they said. It lined up with how she had been acting lately, but the very thought of her… Fancying 9 was so alien to her. She wasn't exactly the best at conveying feelings, possibly even worse at interpreting how others felt. She had no clue what she was going to do, and so she found herself nearly panicking.

" _Calm down 7, it's perfectly normal_." 3 assured her, or at least tried to with his eyes. " _Everyone experiences this kind of thing._ " 4 flashed, patting 7 on the shoulder.

"But what should I do? I don't, I mean, I can't… I'm no good at this kind of stuff!" She nearly jumped out of her body when 9 came up to the entrance of her room, looking at everyone inside.

"Is everything alright in here? I heard some yelling." 7 frantically spoke and tried to get 9 out. "Everything is fine in here! Nothing wrong whatsoever. You just go back to resting, okay 9?"

He shrugged and simply nodded. "Alright then, keep it down though."

As soon as he left, the twins were flashing at her. " _You should tell him. We're quite certain he's interested in you._ " 3 quickly blurted out, while 4 rambled on. _"..And I'm quite sure you two would be happy together and possibly even have_ –"

She was cut off as 7 spoke to 3. "You really think he's interested in me? 

" _Of course. Just look at how he's always trying to save you, and is always holding your hand and whatnot. He's making it as clear as possible_."

She sat in thought for a moment as she recalled the incident with the Seamstress and with the Fabrication Machine, and the most recent rain incident. Indeed, 9 had saved her from all three without much of a thought for himself, almost as if he were doing it out of need rather than desire to help.

The two twins gave her each a hug and a silent 'good luck' as they exited her room, giving her another brief period of rest and thought, as she laid back and sighed. What an emotional mess she had gotten herself into. Not to say that she wasn't the slightest bit interested in where it would go, but it would indeed be quite awkward. She knew that emotions were… Something that the others were much better at, which was why she dreaded having to make some kind of move towards 9, be it rejection or acceptance of his interest… Or perhaps he didn't even have an interest in her? The thoughts became too much for her and she opted to return to her rest instead, knowing she was far better at resting than confessing feelings.


End file.
